Door dovetail



Dec. 20, 1932. H. T. THOMAS Fil DOOR DOVETAIL ed Jan. 16, 1931 2Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Dec. 20, 1932. H T THQMAS 1,891,289

DOOR DOVETAIL Filed Jan. 16, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JJ Je Je pue-2 12;-5. if E E* 7s/ffy a V/ INVENTOR f Horace 7" Thomas. A QI@ A ORNEYS.

Patented Dec. 20, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFCE HORACE T. THOMAS, OFLANSING, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO REO MOTOR CAR COMPANY, A CORPORATION 'OFMICHIGAN :DOOR- DOVETAIL Application filed January 16, 1931.

This invention relates to an improved door dovetail, particularly of thetype used in vehicle body construction. y

Heretofore in attempting to holdclosed doors of a vehicle againstmovement relative to the vehicle body, it has been the practice toAemploy door dovetails of the type which have a pair of vertically spacedyieldable members secured to the door pillar between which isinsertab-le a tongue carried by the door. The function of the yieldablemembers is to resiliently press upon the upper and lower sides of theltongue when the door is closed and insertion of the tongue between theyieldable members during closing of the door is relied upon to placethem under compression. The friction resulting from sliding contactbetween the tongue and yieldable elements of prior devices of this kindhas limited the degree of compression obtainable withoutV excessivelyresisting closing of the door to such an extent that in practice, theyieldable elements cannot be conditioned to exert enough pressure tofirmly hold the vehicle door against movement. As a result, v

the weight of the door, which is constantly applied upon the lowermostyieldable member, causes the latter to yield sufficiently to allow thelower edge of the door to pound upon the bottom of its frame andfrequently jolting of the body thrusts the upper edge of the dooragainst the registering body structure. f

The main objects of this invention are to provide an improved doordovetail which may be conditioned during closing of a door to firmlyhold the latter against movement without excessively resisting openingand closing of the door; to provide improved elements for urging atongue of the device against a yieldable element thereof so as to placethe latter under compression as the door is closed; to provide elementsof this kind which have rolling contact with the tongue so as to allowsufficient compression of the yieldable element to hold the door againstendwise movement without frictionally binding the door in a closedposition; to provide yieldable elements in a device of this characterwhich also have rolling contact Serial No. 509,147.

with the tongue member; to provide rigid means for supporting part ofthe weight of the door; and to provide means of this kind in a doordovetail which has rolling contact with the lower side of the tongue forpositively limiting downward movement or sagging of the door under itsweight.

Further objects of this invention are to provide an improved casing forthe elements between which the tongue of the door dovetail 6G isreceivable; to provide a casing of this kind which is securable to adoor pillar and which has pins for rotatably supporting the rollinglcontact elements; and to provide pins in the casing which haveprotruding ends seated in apertures in the door pillar and supportedpartly by the latter so as to positively locate the. dovetail at apredetermined position on the pillar.

An illustrative embodiment of my invention is shown in the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation of a door dovetail which embodies myinvention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the 75 line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing a vertical section of amodified form of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section of another form 80 of my invention.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view, partly in section, showing afur-ther development of the invention and illustrating the manner inwhich the door dovetails of all the forms are incorporated in a doorpillar.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the door dove- Vtail shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a vertical section taken on the line 7 7 of Fig. 6. 90 Fig. 8is a fragmentary transverse section taken on the line 8*-8 of Fig. G.

In the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the

-door dovetail includes a sheet metal casing l in the external edge of adoor frame structure of the type shown in Fig. 5, in oppositerelationship to the hinged side of a door and the end ianges 2 of thecasing are located adjacent the internal side of the door pillar 4 ofthe door frame structure. Formed in the door pillar 4 in registrationwith the central portion of the casing 1, is a slot 5 through which isinsertable ainale member or tongue 6 which is securable to the freevertical edge of the door by a flange 7.

Located on the side wall S of the casing 1 is a reinforcing bar 9 whichhas spaced apertures 10 and 11 registering with apertures 12 and 13 inthe side wall 8 of the casing. Dowel pins 14 and 15 having reduced endportions extending through the registering apertures of the casing andreinforcing members 1 and 9, respectively, extend rt ansversely throughthe casing 1. The inner extremities of the dowel pins 14 and 15 areburred over so as to hold the pins against displacement with theirshoulders 16 firmly clamped against the inner surface of the side wall 8of the casing. The outer reduced end portions 17 and'18 of the dovelpins 14 and 15, respectively, are received in spaced apertures 19 and 20which are formed in the door pillar 4. These outer reduced end portionsof the pins may be relied upon to positively locate the door dovetail ina predetermined position on the door pilla-r 4 during installation ofthe device.

Rotatably mounted on the enlarged intermediate part of the upper dowelpin 14 is a contact member which includes an inner metal sleeve 21, aconcentric, spaced outer metal sleeve 22 and an intermediate yieldablering 23 which preferably comprises rubber or other suitable material.The yieldable element may be compressed between the inner and outermetal sleeves or it may be vulcanized between the latter.

A solid roller 24 is journaled on the intermediate portion of the lowerdowel pin. This roller may be formed of metal or any other rigidmaterial and it may have a different diameter than that of the upperroller or contact member. The peripheiies of the upper and lowerrollers, however, are spaced apart sutiiciently to permit insertion ofthe 'tapered tongue G which has a substantially horizontal lowei sideand an inclined upper side.

When the door which carries the tongue 6 is closed, the tongue inpassing betveen the rollers has rolling contact with the periplieriesthereof and therefore excessive frictional resistance to closing of thedoor is obviated. The rigid lower roller 24 positively holds tlie freeside of the door against between the rollers it places the yieldable andresilient core of the upper contact member under compression. In thismanner the tongue 6 is firmly gripped between the contact members andforcefully urged against the lower rigid contact member by the resilientupper roll-er. The provision of rolling contact between the tongue andrthe contact members minimizes friction therebetween and permits theresilient element 23 of the upper member to be placed under sufficientcompression to iirmly hold the tongue and the door to which it isattached against upward movement without excessively resisting openingor closing of the door.

In the form shown in Fig. 3 the general structure of the door dovetailis identical to that shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and corresponding parts ofthe device are designated by the saine numerals but in place of therigid contact element or roller 24 a yieldable roller 25, which isidentical in construction to the yieldable roller shown in Figs. 1 and2, is 'journaled on the lower dowel pin 15. With this construction bothupward and downward movement of the tongue which is carried by the dooris yieldably resisted. Vheii the tongue is inserted between the rollersshown in Fig. 3 the yieldable cores thereof are placed under compressionso as to effectively resist vibration of the door.

In the form of my invention, shown in Fig. 4, the casing 1 of the dooi`dovctail is substantially identical to the casing 1 illustrated in Figs.1 and 2. This casing, however, is provided on its outer side withpartial closure comprising plates 26 and 27 which are rigidly riveted tothe end flanges 2 of the casing 1 by centrally threaded members oi nuts3. Threaded in the nuts 3 are screws 2S which extend through aper- 7 theouter surface of its wall 8 and the side wall and reinforcing member areprovided with spaced pairs of registering apertures. Upper and lowerdowel pins 14 and 15 extend transversely of the casing, each having areduced inner end portion received in the i registering apertures of theside wall S and reinforcing member 9 and an outei reduced end portion 17Vand 18, respectively seated TDD iii apertures 29 and 30 of the plates26 and f 27, respectively.

A yieldable roller which is substantially identical to the upperyieldable roller, shown in Fig. 2, is journaled on the upper dowel pin14. This roller includes inner and outer metal sleeves 21 and 22 and anintermediate yieldable core 23 comprising resilient material such asrubber. J ournaled on the lower dowel pin 15 is a rigid contact memberor roller 24having its periphery spaced from the periphery of theyieldable roller Xfith this form of my invention the entire structure isself contained and the rolling contact members are supportedindependently of the door pillar upon which the device is mounted.

The door dovetail, shown in Figs. 5 to 8 inclusive, includes a sheetmetal casing 31 of rectangular shape which is substantially identical tothe casing shown in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive. Flanges 32 are formed onthe respectively opposite ends of the casing and are provided withrigidly attached nuts 33 having screw head bolts 34 by which the casingis secured to a door pillar 35 of a vehicle body door frame structure36. The casing 3l has a side wall 3T on which is mounted a rigid plateor reinforcing member 38 having` an aperture 39 registering with anaperture 40 in the side wall of the casing. A dowel pin 41 extendstransversely through the casing 31 and has reduced portions at itsrespectively opposite ends, one extending through the registeringapertures 39 and 40 of the side wall and reinforcing member,respectively and the other extending through an aperture u 42 in thedoor pillar 35. A rigid roller or Contact member 43 is journaled on theintermediate portion of the dowel pin 41.

Located in the upper end of the casing 31 is a yieldable cushion 44preferably comprising resilient material such as rubber, and having aserrated upper extremity 45 bearing upon the upper end wall of thecasing. The cushion 44 is held in place, and preferably held under aninitial compression by a shiftable, hollow metal block 46 which is heldagainst downward movement by a single pin 47 which eX- tends throughregistering apertures in the plate 38 and side wall 37, respectively,the block being free to rock upon the pin 47.

The door pillar 35 is provided with a slot 48 through which isinsertable a tongue or male member 49 that is carried by the free edgeof a door 50. This tongue has a flange 51 rigidly secured to the door 50by bolts 52 and it is adapted to pass between the roller 43 and theshiftable contact element 46 when the door is closed.

During insertion of the tongue 49 between the roller 43 and contactelement 46, thelower side of the tongue which is substantiallyhorizontal has rolling contact with the roller 43 and the upper side ofthe tongue, which is inclined, slides upon the contact member 46 urgingthe same upwardly against the action of the cushion 44. In this mannerthe compression of the cushion is augmented and Y the tongue is firmlyclamped between the two may be altered or omitted without departing fromthe spirit of this invention as defined by the following claims. i

I claim as my invention:

1. In a door dovetail structure adapted to be mounted on a door pillar,a casing having transverse dowel pins protruding beyond one side thereofand receivable in apertures in said door pillar for locating said casingon `said pillar, and a pair of spaced Contact elements, one journaled oneach dowel pin.

2. A door dovetail including a support, a resilient contact elementrotatably mounted thereon, a rigid contact element rotatably mounted onsaid support and spaced from said resilient contact element, saidelements being adapted to receive a tongue therebetween by rollingcontact whereby to place the resilient element under compression.

3. A door dovetail comprising a lower rigid roller rotatably mounted insaid casing having its periphery in registration with the horizontalside of a wedge shaped tongue adapted to be received by said dovetail,and an upper roller rotatably mounted in said casing having an innerrubber core and an outer periphery for receiving the inclined side ofsaid tongue, said upper roller being adapted to firmly hold said tongueupon said lower roller and to prevent upward movement ofV said tonguerelative to said door frame.

4. A door guide structure comprising a casing secured upon a door post,said casing having a back portion and a reinforcing plate disposed uponthe back portion, a dowel eX- tending through the plate and the back ofthe casing and having the forward end thereof supported in an opening inthe door post.

HORACE T. THOMAS.

